As always, a new CPU can make a major difference to how your favourite games run - and unlike GPUs, they’re actually in stock. Below you’ll find a list of our curated deals below, and we’ll be updating this page until Cyber Monday ends at midnight. Right now, you can navigate to the current UK or US deals by clicking the links on the right. We’re updating this page throughout the day between now and Cyber Monday, so check back regularly to find new offers. Right now, you can navigate to the current UK or US deals by clicking the links on the right. Deals are also organised by whether they’re for Intel or AMD, should you want to stick with a certain manufacturer’s motherboard socket for seamless compatibility. Speaking of motherboards, we’re tracking a few offers for them on our main Cyber Monday deals hub, where you’ll also find our recommended deals on the full breadth of PC gaming hardware. You can also check out our specialised hubs below:

Cyber Monday gaming monitor deals Cyber Monday SSD deals Cyber Monday gaming mouse and keyboard deals Cyber Monday VR headset deals Cyber Monday gaming laptop deals Cyber Monday graphics card deals Cyber Monday RAM deals Cyber Monday Logitech deals Cyber Monday Razer deals Cyber Monday PC game deals

Cyber Monday CPU deals:

Best Intel CPU deals (UK):

Read our full Intel Core i5-12600K review Intel Core i5-12600k - £249 from Overclockers (was £260)

Who’da thunk that the best CPU for gaming would be on sale less than a month after launch? The only catch to this deal is that you’ll also need a new motherboard with an Intel LGA 1700 socket. It’s also an OEM model, but it’s physically and functionally identical to the retail model, so don’t worry too much about that. Unless you insist, in which case, Overclockers also has the retail model for £260 (down from £279).

Read our full Intel Core i9-12900K review Intel Core i9-12900k - £540 from Overclockers (was £570)

In all honestly you’re unlikely to need the overwhelming power of the Core i9-12900K; the much cheaper Core i5-12600K is only marginally slower in games. Still, for those who can’t pass up the chance the own the mightiest gaming CPU on the planet, this sale on the OEM model grants it a new price low. This is a decent price on a very effective gaming CPU. It doesn’t have the newer 12th Gen chips’ enhanced gaming and multitasking capabilities, but will still do the business at all resolutions and has a bigger selection of compatible LGA 1200 motherboards. Not too long ago this was the biggest, fastest CPU in Intel’s Core range, and now it’s available for much less than the Core i9-12900K that replaced it. In the absence of any compelling deals for the Core i5-10600K, this non-overclockable variant makes for a very reasonable alternative. You won’t get the PCIe 4.0 support of later generations, but its gaming performance will serve you well.

Read our full Intel Core i5-9600K review Intel Core i5-9600K – £163 from CCL (was £205)

This is perhaps a little too long in the tooth for most, unless you’re upgrading from an even older entry-level CPU. In which case, the Core i5-9600K remains a decent mid-ranger that’s far more affordable than its closest 10th, 11th and 12th Gen equivalents.

Best AMD CPU deals (UK):

This was £210 for maybe an hour on Black Friday before jumping back up. Killjoys. This price isn’t quite as much of a bargain, but keeps it competitive with the Core i5-12600K - which, remember, also needs an expensive new motherboard to function. AMD’s Ryzen 7 chips have always been ideal for those who want to give their gaming PC some extra multitasking chops. With eight cores and 16 threads, the Ryzen 7 5800X continues that tradition. The ultimate Ryzen, now a little less terrifyingly expensive. This packs in 16 cores and 32 threads, so maybe you could spend your savings on a nice liquid cooler?

Best Intel CPU deals (US):

Read our full Intel Core i5-11600K review Intel Core i5-11600K - $230 from Newegg (was £300)

Be sure to use the code ‘EMCAYAA23’ at checkout to get the maximum discount on this, another of Intel’s highly capable Core i5 processors. Until Alder Lake came along, this was the closest Intel came to beating the Ryzen 5 5600X, so it’s a powerful little chip even if it seemed like a stopgap at launch.

Intel Core i7-11700K - $330 from Newegg (was $420)

No code necessary here. This is the beefiest Core i7 from the 11th Gen era, so is both less than a year old and a decent multithreader.

Read our full Intel Core i9-11900K review Intel Core i9-11900K - $500 from Newegg (was $622)

I’ve seen several retailers trying to pull a fast one with the Core i9-11900K by listing a sale price of $550 when it’s actually been around that price for months. Newegg at least lets you snip an extra $25 off by entering the code ‘EMCAYAA22’, making this the current best price.

Best AMD CPU deals (US):

Read our full AMD Ryzen 7 5800X review AMD Ryzen 7 5800X - $360 from Newegg (was $449)

To get the lowest price on this mighty powerful (yet surprisingly power-efficient) CPU, punch in the code ‘RYZEN5858’ at checkout. Possibly the closest thing you’ll find to a ’low’ price for AMD’s strongest Ryzen chip, unless you take your chances and hope it gets cheaper on Black Friday proper.

How to get a great Cyber Monday CPU deal:

Upgrading to one of today’s best gaming CPUs can make a surprising difference to your PC’s overall gaming performance, particularly if you tend to play games at 1080p, where frame rates are more dependent on CPU power than 1440p and 4K. This also means that when using higher resolutions, you’ll need a higher-end GPU but can get away with a more mid-range CPU. The big question, of course, is what type of gaming CPU you should go for? Intel or AMD? A lot of your decision making will be determined by what kind of motherboard you have, unless you’re upgrading that at the same time - read our guide to matching motherboards to the right CPUs so that all your components are compatible. There are pros and cons to both Intel and AMD. Intel CPUs generally offer better gaming performance overall, but they tend to be more expensive than their AMD equivalents. AMD CPUs also more commonly come with their own coolers, and all of them are unlocked for overclocking, which isn’t necessarily the case with every Intel CPU. Only Intel CPUs with a K or KF on the end of their name can be overclocked. Right now, the absolute best CPU for gaming is the Intel Core i5-12600K, which recently replaced the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X as our first and foremost recommendation. Both of these show that for gaming specifically, you don’t need to pay past the middle tier. However, if you stream games, run a lot of background apps or happen to use your PC for work, then you’ll want a CPU with lots of cores to maintain multitasking performance. This is where it can be worth paying more for, say, one of Intel’s Core i7 CPUs or AMD’s Ryzen 7 chips. If you need help installing your CPU, then you’ll find everything you need to know in our how to install a CPU guide.